2020 ©Kenyan girl🇰🇪

Tragedy-Nikita Kering

8.//I've always had a taste for the finer things in life.

Waridi.

Waridi strode into the bar, confident. She could feel it radiating through her entire body.

Dressed in skinny black cut off jeans, a white chiffon blouse, and a suit jacket, not forgetting her bold red lipstick. Bloody Mary. She felt comfortable than she had felt in the last couple of days. It wasn't what she would usually wear to the office, but this was a different environment.

"I'll take a passion fruit mojito please," she directed to the barman. She didn't want anything too strong. She loved how the taste of lime combining with passion, the mint leaves offered a great refreshing taste, and the white rum offered a great yet barely their alcoholic taste. It would offer a great distraction. "With crushed ice."

She did not know if the people she was meeting would actually make it, she hadn't waited for them to agree or refuse, but she hoped they would.

Standing in the balcony of the VIP area, she sipped her drink slowly, the sweet tangy taste filling her taste buds. Looking out on the dance floor, she realized she had never really been to a club before. It was loud, but it looked fun.

The multi-colored disco lights illuminated bodies, casting gold, pink, red, blue, and acid green lights, creating shadows on the hardwood glassy floors.

More people added into the dance floor, even though it could clearly not accommodate any more. Gyrating to the loud beats of modern music, sweat glistening on their skins. Most of them making out, some others it was love, she could see it in their movements, and body language, how their eyes never left their partners wherever they went, but for more others it was lust, and for a moment she envied them. She wanted to loosen up her hair and dance a bit. Throw care to the wind and also feel what they felt. She wanted to melt into this environment and move with the fluidity of fog in the morning sky.

From where she was, she could see whispered conversations as if they were a secret, but it was to make sure the relevance wasn't lost in the loud music, she could hear the careless gay laughter.

She reached behind her and loosened her hair tie without really knowing what she was doing, running her fingers through her hair, she couldn't wait to feel the wind in it.

She felt a hand lightly tap her shoulder, and she immediately remembered where she was. There in the VIP sections, it smelled of expensive cologne, and even more expensive whiskey. The smell of the treasured Cohiba Behika cigars stained the air, the smoke making its way slowly into the plexiglass chandeliers. It screamed money.

There, the laughs weren't careless, rather guarded. The conversation hushed, almost silent, understandable due to the number of secrets these people had to hide.

"Mr. Trevor. You came?" she turned around a tight smile on her face. "Your partner, Philip, he didn't come?"

"Oh, he's busy, something boring, with the lands office," he replied pulling out her chair for her and signaling for the waiter to refill her glass and get him a drink. Move one was completed, keep Philip busy. "You don't want something stronger?"

"No, thanks, I won't need it, this is just fine," she told him gesturing to her glass. "You on the other hand... can have the strongest there is, it's going to be a good night for you."

"I should hope so. I've always preferred the finer things in life Miss Waridi, you're a beautiful woman, you know that? " maybe she read all wrong, but she could hear the lying undertones in his voice. He lit a cigar, puffing out smoke. Perverted bastard.

"I suppose so," shrugging she took a sip of her fruit drink. "I have friends who are like you. Ones who like finer things in life,"

Leaning on the back of his chair, crossing his arms, he studied her, cigar dangerously dangling between his fingers too close to his body.

"Care to mention a few?" he asked unknowingly giving her the ammunition she needed.

"You know, when you play with fire, it tends to burn you, badly. So be careful with that cigar, it could raze you down,"

"And I'm guessing you wouldn't put it off,"

"Oh me, I don't know how to put out fires, I'm not a firefighter. Talking about fires reminded me of a friend. Linda, she's a mutual friend I believe. She has more fire in her than most of my other friends. I like her,"

"Tell me more," she realized he was leading her on as if he had already caught onto what she was saying. As if to say, two can play the game. Move two completed, make him curious.

His phone rang out shrilly before she could answer but he disconnected it.

"You should answer that. Might be important don't you think?"

"It's just my wife, we are not currently on talking terms, she probably wants to know where I went for the weekend, so about this Linda?"

"Maybe you should answer her. It is her right after all and she's your wife she's definitely genuinely worried,"

His phone rang again and he disconnected it again.

"I don't think we should continue this meeting, you're probably busy, might be urgent,"

His phone rang again and this time he answered it, looking at her straight in the eye, if he thought she would flinch or shy away from the eye contact, then he was in for a major surprise.

"My wife is suddenly talking to me, out of nowhere," he pointed out after he was through, placing the phone on the table. "And saying thank you for the 'flowers and jewelry' I supposedly sent,"

"Isn't that nice. Someone might be doing your work for you don't you think?" Another phone call. "My Trevor you are a busy man," she remarked and stayed silent while he answered it.

"And Linda too. I wonder who is doing all of that," he pondered over it, but she had a feeling he already knew.

"Are we talking about the same Linda? " that caught him off guard, his mouth opening and closing. "I'll let you think about it, I believe that's personal, and I want to assume you're not expecting me to answer that. I'll just use the restroom. I'll wait for your call,"

She had no intention of using it, and she left to let him join the dots if he hadn't already.

The bar she had chosen was on the beachfront, and she wandered outside, letting the wind play in her hair. This had been a very unorthodox way of handling contracts, but it seemed to be working so far, wasn't it.

Gazing at the waves rush in and out with a calmness she only wished she had, she took off her shoes, letting the soft sand fill in her toes. She wasn't there long, when someone bumped into her, more like hit her from behind, knocking the air out of her lungs.

"Hey, you..." the words died in her thought when she spotted a young woman on the ground beside her. She looked drunk and not even in the right mind to hold a conversation. Scolding her would just be a waste of her breath.

"som*hic*some*someone is chasing*hic*chasing*hic*chasing me*hic*"

"Who?" not knowing how to handle drunk people, she sat down beside her and asked curiously. "What do they want?"

"*hic*I *hic*I dont*hic*I don't know,"

"Do you owe them anything?" she was genuinely curious, and concerned, but she was also prolonging the conversation for her own selfish reasons, she did not want to think of the deal, maybe she had failed, she did not want to go back to the bar, it was loud, noisy and hot and she also did not want to think of St. Claire, he made her uncomfortable.

Taking out a bottle of flavored water from her bag, and offered it to her. That would sobber her a little and make conversations easier. She couldn't even hold it straight so she held it up to her mouth.

"This is swee*hic* swee sweet," that was much more easier than her previous sentences.

"So who's following you?"

"My past," that was not what she expected especially from someone as young as she was. They were almost the same age, if not exactly the same. She was kinda glad that she wasn't the only one carrying huge problems and if that made her a bad person, then so be it.

"That's heavy,"

"I've done*hic*alot of bad things*hic*that maybe I should*hic*pay for*hic*or not, but doesn't everyone deserve*hic* a second chance,"

"Sure you do," nodding she agreed. "What did you do,"

"I don't know," she whispered laughing. "I*hic*I don't even know*hic*"

"You don't know, or you won't tell?"

"You're really smart," she observed musing. "But it's a secret,"

"You have a lot of secrets," it was half a question and half a statement.

"A little more than everybody else. And they are too heavy to carry around. I'm twenty*hic*two*hic*, but I feel like I'm seventy, with the back pains and all the luggage that age comes with,"

"You can trust me, I'm a stranger, we won't ever meet again, probably, the chances are very slim,"

"Why are you here?"

"I feel it's quite enough, not loud and calm,"

"I*hic*I guess*hic*I guess that works, but I was asking why you're here in the city, in Mombasa, why?"

"Oh, I'm here on business. What about you, why are you here?"

"Same reason as you it's quiet and not loud and calm, and familiar,"

"Familiar?"

"It's home*hic*," she said after some time. "It's my own personal hell,"

"Can't you get out of this place, if it's hell, you can always go away,"

"I wish it was easier, I have tried, but I can't just seem to leave it behind. It appears in my nightmares and in my daydreams. Everywhere I turn, I see it, will I keep running my whole life?"

"If you have to, why no?"

"But that's the problem, the demons are in my soul, so even if I keep running, I just keep carrying the baggage with me. It's hard. I keep coming back like a moth to the flame, and every time I get burned, but every time I try my best and heal again. It's painful to get burned isn't it?"

Waridi chuckled lightly remembering what she told Trevor about playing with fire."I haven't gotten burnt before, but I do guess hurts, I'd like to think so,"

"You don't want to try and get burnt?"

"You already told me it's painful, why would I want to be burnt then?"

"You wouldn't do it in solidarity with your stranger friend?"

"We just met, I don't even know your name,"

"Then I'll tell it to you,"

"You're real name?"

She nodded. "You go first, just one name,"

"Waridi, a pleasure to meet you," she held out her hand to shake.

"Simi, the pleasure is mine," their hands met, and they shook them slowly.

Yaay*does crazy dancing*another Waridi update💃💃but this was supposed to be one combined chapter with chapter 7.1 but it was too long, about four thousand words, so I divided it.

But I hope you enjoy it.

Also, I've been told my 'their' and 'there' have been taken to court 😂😂 and have been found wanting. Having broken the rule of law⚖, but I promise I'll find all of them and change them, track them down if necessary, but do point them out for me if you find them before I do. I'll ask them to change nicely first, if they can't, I'll do it forcefully.

Thank you to all the people who are here every day. Pointing out those theirs must be hard work😅😅I love you all❤️❤️tell me how you'd like your cash😂

Kisses😘😘

And don't forget to vote that would make me smile☺, and share, and tell me what you think.